>> it all happened by complete accident, like anything wonderful, electricity, penicillin. >> there's just one difference, you never saw alexander fleming standing in front of a dress made of penicillin. did you notice that? this was designed by a dress maker in des moines, and the cbo of baconfest, that would be the chief bacon officer, he's blown away by his majesty. >> it widely surpassed anything i thought was achievable. i mean, look at it. it sparkles. >> sparkles? come on, bacon guy. it's a dress made of bacon. it doesn't sparkle. it sizzles. there's one other element of baconfest that we simply have to talk about courtesy of our affiliate kcci. >> and, of course, there was the coronation of this year's bacon queen. after q & a and an intense

talent competition, the winner was announced. >> after that she donned the bacon dress. this year's baggen queen totally brought it hope. >> bacon queen, i want the title. i think it's really vital to rock and rhyme about the slime bacon. bacon is so swine, so fine to eat swine. how is it? bacon, bacon, bacon. it is so fine. it is so fine to eat some swine. it's bacon, bacon, bacon. >> mmm. bayh bacon wrap. that's what i call bringing home the bacon. that's it for "the ridiculist." "early start" begins now. breaking new this morning north korea has said it's successfully set off gnu another

explosion. balancing act with the "state of the union" now just hours away. how will president obama challenge republicans and seek common ground all at the same time? and replacing the pope. with the holy father's sudden resignation, how do they pick the new one? soo good morning, i'm zoraida sambol sambolin. >> and i'm john berman with more breaking news just ahead. north korea sending shock waves through the ground and around the world with its third test of an atomic test. this morning the white house is responding and allies in asia are calling emergency meetings as well. north korea's state-run news agency has announced, quote, they have success lil conducted a third underground nuclear test at a northern test site within

that country. this after new york seismologists picked up a 5.1 earthquake in north crey a mile underground in the same area where they conducted two previous tests. the big question this morning how strong was the blast and how close is north korea to making a bomb that it can sell or launch. what does this mean for north korea's nuclear program? there are a lot of skeptics who say they do not have the capability to make a bomb. >> well, zoraida, it will be days before the u.s. has a very good handle on the size of the explosion, the size of the payload, but at first glance what u.s. officials are very concerned about are north korea's claims that it testified a miniaturized nuclear weapon. why is that so concerning? that means they're closer to

making a missile that they could launch toward the united states. these types of dplier tesnuclea moves them closer to mastering the idea. it was expected, officials tell me, that north korea warned the u.s. and china yesterday that a test was eminent. after the test president obama issued a statement. what he said was north korea's nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs constitute a threat to u.s. national security and to international peace and security. we will strengthen close coordination with allies and partners and work with our six-party partners,united nations security council and other u.n. member states to

pursue this. they will be meeting this morning in an emergency session. my source is telling me u.s. is going to push for tough condemnation, possibly sanctions. it depends what china will do at the u.n., but the u.n. has the option of going to other sanctions such as what they did with iran, squeezing north korea from the international financial system. >> we know that you're following all the developments. we'll check back in with you later. coming up we'll have a live report from anna coren. she's in seoul, south korea. john? >> of course, as this is all happening president obama delivers his fourth "state of the union" report. if you want an example of how divided we are as a nation right now, specifically on the issue of gun control, a survivor of the sandy hook elementary school massacre will be in attendance

with other victims of gun violence asia long with ted nugent along with a texas lawmaker. but as brianna keilar reports, the main focus tonight is expected to be the economy. >> mr. speaker, the president of the united states. >> reporter: how times have changed. when he addressed congress one year ago, president obama faced sagging poll numbers and a tough road to re-election. the result, a "state of the union" address that contained few new proposals and largely fell flat, not likely this year. >> his party gained seats in both the senate and the house, the american people broadly speaking are with him, and so he can deliver a speech without the kinds of political constraints that he faced just 12 months ago. >> reporter: white house officials tell cnn that tonight's address will bookend the president's inaugural speech last month when he laid out

aggressive themes on gun control and immigration and mentioned some unexpected subjects. >> some may still deny the overwhelming judgment of science but none can avoid the devastating impact of raging fires and crippling drought, and more powerful storms. our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law. >> reporter: while president obama is expected to aur more specifics on some of the issues, white house officials say the overall focus tonight will be the economy and adding jobs for the middle class. that topic got surprisingly little attention in the inaugural address. >> he hasn't given us an idea whether there is a sigs can't agenda that he wants to pursue/design to try to accelerate economic growth and economic recovery. that's been the big missing piece all the way through last year and we'll see whether it's filled in in the "state of the union." >> reporter: to that end president obama will frame much of his agenda under the umbrella of economic growth as he talks

about tax reform and government spending and his proposals on education, climate change, and immigration. but while the wind is at his back, observers say president obama can't appear too bullheaded at the start of his second term. brianna keilar, cnn, the white house. so in the next hour of "early start," we'll look ahead to tonight's state of address with matt cartright of pennsylvania and illinois republican congressman adam kinzinger. you can watch it tonight live on cnn. our coverage begins at 7:00 p.m. eastern and if you can't catch it, catch all of the highlights tomorrow morning on "early start." new development this morning in the murder of chicago honor student hadiya pendleton. two suspected gang members, 189-year-old michael ward and 20-year-old kenneth williams will be in court this morning. there are their mug shot s righ

there. police say ward confessed and said she was not the intended target. just days before pendleton had performed at the president's inauguration, michelle obama appeared at the funeral. tonight her parents will be guests at tonight's state of the europe onaddress. ted rowlands has more. what do we know and how did police find them? >> reporter: well, zoraida, how police found them unfortunately wasn't from a tip from the community. they said they were very disappointed in the fact that despite the fact that this case was on the airwaves every single day for almost two weeks and there was a $40,000 reward, dhad not get that tip from a witness. what happened was they just canvassed the neighborhood and picked up little tidbits and were able to narrow down these two and as you said, they got a partial confession from the

18-year-old. >> and we heard that they mistook one of hadiya's friends for a rival gang member. have we learned whether or not any of her friends were connected to any gangs? >> reporter: absolutely not. in fact, the 18-year-old michael ward said he believed the one male underneath this canopy in this park was a member of a rival gang that. was a case of mistaken identity. none of those kids, who had just finished taking a final exam at high school had anything to do with this. they were all innocent victims. >> we also know her parents will be attending the "state of the union" address. they were invited by mrs. obama. have they had any public reaction at all to the arrests? >> reporter: gary mccarthy said in the press conference last night that he talked to the parents who were in washington last night. they were very grateful for the outpouring of support but as you

can imagine heartbroken still at the loss of their daughter, but this was good news that at least they made an arrest. >> and, ted, i want to ask one final question. you touched on something that's unique to chicago, maybe not with gangs, and that is that there were no tips that came in to the police department. is that because the gang members actually have a silence policy on talking about what happened if they did witness anything? >> reporter: absolutely. no snitching. it is a huge problem. it is a huge problem in other urban areas as well. it's got on the the point that in talking with the states attorney it's got on the the point people won't even tell police what they saw at a scene of a crime. it used to be when major witness was intimidated. now everybody in the community is intimidated. it's a huge problem trying to put people behind bars. of the murders last year, 546. left than half of those resulted in arrests. >> that's really careful and

thank kind of compounds the problem of gun violence in chicago. ted rowlands, thank you very much for that update. it is now ten minutes past the hour. and now pope benedict xvi's stunning announcement that he'll be stepping down we have an idea when a new pope will take the reins. jim bittermann explains. >> reporter: since no pope has resigned in six centuries, there's very little precedent for what will happen at the vatican, but there are a few hints. the papal spokesman announced that there'll be a new pope by easter. easter is the 31st of march, so the 118 members will have to get through that. the spokesman also said the college of cardinals will not convene while the pope is still? office. so that means the popes will not

go into conclave before he steps down. the election process itself could be quite short. with jet travel it no longer takes weeks for cardinals to gather. in fact third quarter could arrive early in march. what will be missing is the period of mourning and reflection that takes place when a pope dies. it is still an open question whether the cardinals will immediately fwaer and go sbieng the conclave or take a few days to get into the mood for electing a pope. also unclear is whether without a mourning period there will be time in the schedule for the kwee yet and formal gathers of cardinals which have in the past have been a time when the men who decide the next pope can size up their fellow cardinals, perhaps deciding who among them could make the best leader of the church. the conclave begin when they file into the sistine chapel and the doors are locked behind them so they can conduct their vote in secret. in ancient times the conclave went fairly long. it took three years in the 13th century to elect pope gregory x.

but some have gone less than 24 hours and in more recent times they have lasted just a few days. cardinal ratzinger was elected with only 24 rounds of voting in less than 24 hours. also shortening the process, the cardinals know far more about each other and their qualities than they have in the past. of the 116 cardinals personally selected by benedict in the last seven of years it seems very likely that they'll enter the conclave with like-mindedness of who would be the next pope. in the next hour, a look at the possible successors. who's on the short list. we'll talk with raymond a roy row. he's a news director at ewtn, the eternal world of television network. looking forward to talking to him today. >> he was terrific. i can't wait to hear what he has to say.

meanwhile in washington, the first lady will watch the state of the union address with special guests. one of them is a special embattled hero, a real hero, his story told by the president himself coming up. the boys used double miles from their capital one venture card to fly home for the big family reunion. you must be garth's father? hello. mother. mother! traveling is easy with the venture card because you can fly any airline anytime. two words. double miles! this guy can act. wanna play dodge rock?

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♪and you will be happy too. welcome back to a special "state of the union" edition on "early start." tonight clint roma shay will be awarded a medal of honor. this is the military's highest medal of honor. president obama will describe how row me shah untsds went an attack in afghanistan in 2009. >> more american bodies were still out there. and clint row me shah leads the

soldier's creed,ly never leave a fallen comrade. they kept charging. 50 meter, 80 meters, ultimately a 100-meter run through a hale of bullets. they reached their fallen friend and brought them home. >> it is truly harrowing and inspiring. he's the fourth to receive the medal of honor. also on the obama's guest list for tonight, apple's ceo tim cook. he'll be sitting in the first lady's box. this is the second straight year she has invited him. last year widow jobs, wife of steve jobs sat with her. after that there will be two responses. senator marco rubio for the republicans and senator rand

paul for the tea party. we're flogging breaking new this morning. north korea conducting its third test of a nuclear weapon, raising fears now that the nation is closer to having a bomb that it can actually deploy. the obama administration condemned the test saying it warrants swift incredible action by the international community. >> and later this morning a vote on a proposed law to allow same-sex couples to marry and to adopt. this is in france. parliament will vote on the highly charged, highly emotional issue after intense debate on both sides. and fat tuesday celebrations in the big easy will probably be soggy. the national weather service says morning paradegoers in new orleans should expect light rain. we have a live look for you. bourbon street, lots of folks out there. stronger thunderstorms should hold off at least until the

afternoon. all of the southeast in louisiana is still under a flood watch as well. that is not going to stop those folks from partying, i expect. so one word you will hear a lot out of the pr's mouth tonight, jobs. christine romanses, fact-checking with what the president's been saying about the economy is coming up. you can part a crowd, without saying a word... with what the president's been saying about the economy is coming up. f , fact-checking with what the president's been ying about the economy is coming up. ', fact-checking with what the president's been saying about the economy is coming up. fact-checking with what the president's been saying about the economy is coming up. uddle no more. try zyrtec®. it gives you powerful allergy relief. and zyrtec® is different than claritin® because zyrtec® starts working at hour one on the first day you take it. claritin® doesn't start working until hour three. zyrtec®. love the air. claritin® doesn't start working until hour three.

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slightly lower open after north korea's latest nuclear attack and so far the world's reaction has been muted. with the unemployment rate at 7.9% we're expecting to hear about jobs, job, and more jobs. christine romans is here to do a little fact ceching for us. >> last year he mentioned "jobs" 42 times. i ran this word through word cloud. it shows the weight that jobs had in that speech, more weight than anything else except the word "america," which i pulled out. how has he done this past year? 2 million jobs have been added. the unemployment rate has drifted down to 7.9%, down to the horrible peak of 10%. is he going to look back even

father. the white house spokesman jay carney yesterday. >> the economy is continuing to grow, to continue to build on the progress we've made, to continue the job creation we've achieve, over 6.1 million over the past 35, 36 months. >> so 2 million jobs over the past year. fact chekt on that comment? true. 6 president 1 million jobs, 6 president 1 million created during that time. here's the reality chekt to that fact check. we're still down more than 3 million jobs since the recession began in 2007 and the jobs we're adding, zoraida, are another the same quality as the jobs we lost. a study at rut gigers found thi. 54% got lower paying job. 34% took up to a 10% pay cut. 26% took up to a 50% pay cut.

>> that's huge. >> every single thing he talks about tonight, whether it's immigration reform, tax policy, sequester, whatever messages he's sending to congress has to be in the context of how are you going to create good jobs? and quickly we've learned from aaa gas prices have risen for the 26th day in a row. yes, we've added jobs, butter week people feel that higher gas price in the tank. so, you know, we'll see what he says about energy enerand energ policy. >> i'm shul you'll be fact ceching more. john, back to you. the question is will he follow through? we're going to go live here to washington -- back here to washington with a scorecard of last year's "state of the union" address. that's coming up. nurses are dealing with a wider range of issues.

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morning. the blast heard around the world. north korea claiming another nuclear test. dueling addresses after the "state of the union." a closer look at the two rising republican stars ready to respond to the president's speech tonight. and the big digout. day three. believe it or not, some are still stuck at home after that northeast blizzard. welcome back to "early start." glad you're with us. i'm zoraida sambolin in new york. >> good morning, everyone. i'm john berman live from washington. we begin with breaking news. north korea has done it again.

the nation's state-run news agency reporting that it has success employ conducted a third underground nuclear test and reaction is pouring in from around the world. in just a few hours the u.n. security council is going to hold an emergency meeting. japan's prime minister is calling north korea's actions regrettable. let's bring in anna coren. this is the third successful nuclear test. what is north korea planning? >> they are planning on developing a nuclear arsenal and become agnew clear state and you would have to think, zoraida, they're one step closer after conducting this third nuclear test. now they say that they let off an atomic bomb, that it was more powerful and stronger and lighter, which would suggest they're getting very close to

developing a miniaturized warhead that they can then fit on top of a ballistic missile. we know they have the technology to launch a rocket. they did that back in december. a long-range rocket was sent. north korea wants to develop a deterrent against its sworn enemy, the united states, that is the ultimate aim. >> and, anna, south korea has called on the u.n. security council to hold a security meeting and that is happening this morning, scheduled at 9:00 a.m. what kind of action could we see coming from the united nations? we've heard about the condemnation, but what will the action be? >> it's a very good question. we just don't know. you know, it would appear that north korea is immune to sanction. they tightened the sanction last month and you would assume

that's exactly what they're going to do with the backing of china. this is something that ericed north koreans because they're the only ally of north korea. so what do they do going forward? well that is up to the international community. as to whether it works, onto time will tell. >> i know we're going to be watching that very closely and you will as well. anna coren in seoul for us. thank you very much. and, john, the timing of this is very interesting. >> on the very day the president delivers the "state of the union" address. and even without the ins stent in korea, there's a lot on the line when president obama stands before congress and the nation and delivers his fourth "state of the union" address. jobs and the economy will probably be issue number one, but the president is also expected to make his case for immigration reform as well as climate change and, of course, gun control. cnn's live coverage of the address begins at 7:00 p.m. eastern time. now, once the president is done, there will be two "state of the union" responses.

senators marco rubio for the republicans and senator rand paul for the tea party. akarding to both republicans and the tea party, there's no divide of any kind. in fact, one says it represents a victory for the conservative movement. cnn's jim acosta explains. >> they talk about the cost of social programs. >> reporter: in one corner, florida senator mark colorado rubio, dubbed the republican savior on the cover of "time magazine." in the other corner kentucky senator rand paul with reaction from the tea party movement. for both men, the dueling speeches are a sudden sign of their star power. just three years ago rubio was a tea party favorite but a long shot for the senate when he sat down with cnn for one of his first interviews. a little more than two years later he had a prime speaking

slot at the republican convention and now he's a leading voice on immigration reform. >> he did absolutely nothing on immigration. >> we're coming to take our government back. >> reporter: paul who also rode the tea party wave into the senate in 2010 says his response to the president will be different. >> i think really there are things i may emphasize that marco rubio doesn't. i don't always agree but this isn't about he and i. this is about the tea party. >> reporter: they tell skr nn tuesday night we have two tea party senators responding to the president's "state of the union" address. that is historic. but navarro says make no mistake rubio is a republican first. >> he's always run as a republican. at the same time he's very receptive and embraces a lot of

what the tea party stands for. >> they don't think there's anything wrong the with their policies. they just think they need to package them better. you can't put lipstick on a pig. >> reporter: a top rubio aide says the senator welcomes the tea party reaction to the president. jim acosta, cnn, washington. we will, of course, cover all of those speeches tonight. in just a few minutes our dan lothian takes a look at the president's promises from his 2012 "state of the union" address to see how many he kept. and in our next hour of "early start" we're going to look at tonight with republican matt cart wright and illinois

congressman republican adam kinzinger. we'll bring you the expert analysis you have come to expect from cn tomorrow on "early start." we're doing it all, zoraida. >> and marco rubio in a first is going to deliver his response in english and spanish. that will be very interesting to watch as well. thank you, we'll check back in with you. hundreds of tips have poured in since the $1 million award has been offered for information leading to the arrest of the accused cop killer christopher dorner. the renegade ex-police officer is accused of killing three in a revenge plot, targeting the l.a. police department. considered the largest in california history has entered its second week now. and three long days since an epic blizzard bombarded the northeast and since some cities are beginning to return to normal, others are still struggling to dig out for more than three feet of snow. one of them, hamden,

connecticut. they got 40 inches of snow. that is where we find george. are you playing in the snow out there? >> there's still a lot of roads unplowed, believe it or not. but here's what we found. residents here are have parent like peter curtis. this is a guy i found the other day who has been stuck in his home now since friday burke rather than complain about it all, he seems content just to wait it out. watch this. peter curtis waited at the front door. i'm going to come over and see if i can talk to you. it's not the easiest walk as you can imagine. watching curiously to see how deep the snow is that's kept him trapped in his home for days. so how long have you been stuck in here? >> i wasn't to the store friday

morning and got all the stuff i've needed, so i've been here since friday. >> reporter: i guess i'm your first visitor if i can make it. >> yeah, good. >> reporter: a vietnam veteran living here alone curtis says he isn't able to dig himself out of the snow like a lot of his friends but he takes it all in stride. >> what you want to say is -- it's terrible. i've got books. i'm reading. >> reporter: you're catching up on your reading. >> yeah, of course. i've got a book here, a book there. >> reporter: and patience is important according to mayor scott jackson. >> we have about 245 miles worth of road, and as of right now, about 50% of them are imp impassable. >> reporter: you find people i s neighborhoods doing their part. >> i have a friend down the

street. his street isn't plowable. i owe him a couple and that's about what it is. >> reporter: and that's what peter is hoping for. >> i hope to get boy scouts helping out. >> reporter: neighbors helping neighbors to get help in hamden. the good news is it is night. the bad news is there's bad news in the forecast to add to the snow they're trying to get rid of. >> at least you you're finding folks with a good attitude and you moonwalking is always fun. you can continue to share with us. george howell live in connecticut. >> john, back over to you. >> i agree. lake to see george moonwalking. saying is one thing.

doing it is another. coming up from washington, a closer look at what the president promised in the last "state of the union" address. did he follow through? you ready? we wanna be our brother's keeper. what's number two we wanna do? bring it up to 90 decatherms. how bout ya, joe? let's go ahead and bring it online. attention on site, attention on site. now starting unit nine. some of the world's cleanest gas turbines are now powering some of america's biggest cities. siemens. answers. to compete on the global stage. what we need are people prepared for the careers of our new economy. by 2025 we could have 20 million jobs without enough college graduates to fill them. that's why at devry university, we're teaming up with companies like cisco to help make sure everyone's is ready with the know how we need for a new tomorrow. [ male announcer ] make sure america's ready.

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promises, promises. tonight we will know what president obama intends to do in 2013. he made a lot of promises during last year's "state of the union" address, so what difference has a year made? dan lothian takes a look. >> reporter: with confidence and conviction, president obama paved the road through 2012 with his state of the eun o"state of address. >> we can do this. >> reporter: making solutions and promises. >> i can go anywhere in the world. we know how to fix it. >> reporter: how far did he go? did he get what he wanted? on immigration he offered a break for some young students in this country illegally. >> let's at least agree to stop

expelling responsible people who want to staff our lands, start new businesses, dpeenld this country. >> reporter: he later signed an executive order similar to the d.r.e.a.m. act to do just that with certain requirements. many of the hispanic community criticized him for not acting sooner. and on education for all college students, a promise to keep costs down while putting administrators on notice. >> if you can't stop tuition from going up, the funding you get from taxpayers will go down. >> reporter: the president extended a $2,500 tax credit for public students and it caused some private universities to freeze tuitions and cut costs but some promises ran into stiff congressional opposition, a move to remove outsourcing was rejected in the senate as well as oil subsidiesubsidies. some were pushing ahead like

taxing the rich. >> your taxes shouldn't go up. >> reporter: but the political winds blew that line up to $450,000 for couples as part of the a dragged out 11th hour fiscal cliff deal, the same deal that swallowed a payroll tax cut pledge. >> pass the payroll tax cut without delay. >> reporter: some of the president's promises were viewed as pandering very photos if the election year, something the white house has flatly rejected but it has acknowledged the campaigns could prevent congress from acting. dan lothian, cnn, the white house. so from the economy, gun violence, immigration reform, president obama lays out his agenda for 2013 in his first "state of the union" address in his second term and we'll be all over it live. you can watch cnn's comprehensive coverage tonight starting at 7:00 p.m. eastern time. zoraida? john, this next story is for you. i know you have a little anxiety about sharks.

listen up. shark attacks are on the rise. a university of florida study shows shark attacks have gone up but the odds that you'll be attacked are still extremely rare. worldwide there were 80 unprovoked attacks worldwide in 2012. slightly up from 2011. 53 attacks happened in the u.s. good news/bad news. look at your face. >> i don't like the odds. i don't like them. >> but it is a little bit of good news. anyway, it is a test of patience for thousands of cruise ship passengers, another story you were very interested in yesterday. they're drifting at sea aboard a disabled cruise ship. today, a glimmer of hope that the whole ordeal is finally coming to an end. that is headed your way next. and, folks, if you're leaving your house, you can watch us any time. go to c n n dann.com/tv. the patient, presented with

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a beautiful predawn shot of washington, d.c. you're looking at the washington monument right there. it's 48 degrees here right now. we'll get up to 53 degrees later. and, of course, tonight president obama delivers his "state of the union" address. for now president obama doing an abo about-face for raising the eligible of medicare. he proposes to raise the age from 65 to 67. he said he was willing to consider such a move in december of 2011 but a spokesman said now it is not the right direction go in. the president is still willing to consider lowering the medicare cost of living adjustments if republicans will compromise on new tax revenues. so after honoring the 200-year tradition of delivering the "state of the union" address, president obama will take part in a far more modern edition, a google+ chat.

there'll be a chat hangout thursday at 4:00 p.m. eastern time. we'll have a full preview of tonight's address at the top of the hour. zorai zoraida? >> thank you very much, john. breaking news. north korea's state-run news agency has confirmed, quote, they have successfully conducted a third underground nuclear test. the u.n. security council will have an emergency meeting at 9:00 a.m. the australian government has condemned the quote in, quote, the strongest possible terms. the question is what action if anything will be taken. the first of two tugboats reached the carnival cruise line. they'll be towing them to a port in alabama. it's expected to arrive sometime thursday. a spokesman for carnival cruise line said it was an energy fire that has left the ship stranded since sunday. and if you are traveling

today, keep an eye of the weather. just as the northeast is getting back to normal, we're looking at another round of storms in the northeast. or you're back at home in boston. >> i'm home. >> great job. >> things are finally calming down. temperatures in the 40s today. they're going to be dealing with snowmelt especially in the overnight hours. we're starting to see more chances for showers in the south-southeast. we're going to see a low vice president in texas and see that line of storms still stalled out in the southeast. they've already seen 3 to 5 inches of rain. we all know, yes, mardi gras, more showers for them. look at all that instability as that low starts to form. i want too take you out wider. you see all the showers that still remain in the

south-southeast. we're talking about mardi gras, fat tuesday, we have severe potential storms. i don't know about you, john, but i don't think it's going to keep anyone awail from partying tonight. >> "state of the union," fat tuesday, what date will be, a party all over the country. up next, a television station broadcasts a warning that zombies are coming. uh-oh, a hacker start as prank that sends some daytime tv viewers into a mild panic. toothpaste. rest h use it with these 3d white products, and whiten your teeth in just 2 days. new crest 3d white toothpaste. life opens up when you do. gives you 1% cash back on all purchases, plus a 50% annual bonus. and everyone likes 50% more... [ midwestern/chicago accent ] cheddar! yeah! 50 percent more [yodeling] yodel-ay-ee-oo. 50% more flash. [ southern accent ] 50 percent more taters. that's where tots come from.

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welcome back to "early start." taking a look at the top cnn

trend this morning, the zombies have officially taken over. incredible ratings for "the return of the walking dead." the show came back from its season break with 12.5 million viewers. that's a new high. it also pulled in close to 8 million viewers. how good is that? it beat the wednesday and thursday editions of kwern idol in that all-important adult demo, and this was up against the grammys, john. >> yeah. zombies are huge in the demo. >> apparently. who knew. >> and in related news, you know, we interrupt this program for the zombie apocalypse. a montana tv station says hackers broke into their alert system and awarned that the dead are rising from their graves and attacking the living. l listen to this. >> they're rising from their

graves and attacking the living. follow the information on screen at information becomes available. >> "the great falls tribune", believe it or not, actually called police to see if this was true. it was issued during an afternoon programming on krtv. the station, as you can imagine, is trying to find out how this happens. >> i can't wait to see how this story continues to develop, john. how crazy is that? i think i will call too. late-night laughs, jon stewart like all of us wondering what retired popes do. >> a pope hasn't resigned like this in 600 years. they don't usually retire until they're called back to the home office. so i guess the obvious question, "b" -- >> what does a retired pope do? >> what is a retired pope to do? what do retired popes do? >> now, i'm not a religious scholar but if i know anything

about retired people, it's probably the same as what they all do. ♪ tonight we are young note . >> live mas! i said heading into this it has to be sacrilegious. there you have it. "early start" continues right now. a developing story this morning. north korea says it has successfully set off another nuclear explosion as kim jung n closer to getting the bomb? how will president obama challenge republicans and seek common ground. what is the vatican's plan for picking a new leader for the world's billion catholics. good morning. welcome to "early start."

we're happy are you with us. i'm zoraida sambolin in new york. >> and i'm john berman in washington. we'll have more from washington on tonight's state of the unof address just ahead. >> thank you, john. first, north korea has conducted a third test of a nuclear bomb. north korea state run news agency announced "conducted a third successful nuclear test." this after u.s. seismologists picked up a 5.1 magnitude earthquake in north korea about a mile underground, in the same area where they conducted two previous tests. the question, how close is north korea to making a bomb it did actually deploy? what does this test say about the state of the nuclear

program? a lot of skeptics that say they don't have the capability to launch. >> people are saying it's not yet a nuclear state. but you have to think it is one step closer to developing a nuclear arsenal. successfully conducted its third nuclear test. it happened at noon local time. they let off an atomic bomb more powerful, lighter and certainly much smaller than what they ever previously tested. so this would -- they are closer to developing a miniaturized nuclear war head that would fit atop a ballistic missile. this successfully launched that prokt back in december. a long-range rocket which has the potential to travel more than 10,000 kilometers. this is from north korea to the united states. and north korea wants a nuclear

deterrent to protect itself from the u.s. >> i know are you watching the developments. thank you. the timing, really interesting. the state of the union on the heels of that. >> a lot of people don't think it's a coincidence and the president will have to address this as he speaks. tonight, as he's giving the speech it will be before one of the most gridlocked congresses ever for the fourth state of the union address. a lot on agenda immigration reform. climate change, and gun control. if you want an example of how divided the country is now, look who will be in the audience, a survivor of the sandy hook elementary massacre and other victims of gun violence. also, rocker and gun rights advocate ted nugent, the guest of a texas lawmaker. but the main fork husbacus will economy. >> mr. speaker, the president of

the united states. >> reporter: how times have changed. when he addressed congress one year ago, president obama faced sagging poll numbers and a tough road to re-election. the result? a state of the union address that contained few new proposals and largely fell flat. not likely this year. >> his party gained seats in both the senate and the house. the american people broadly speaking are with him, and so he can deliver a speech without the kinds of political constraints that he faced just 12 months ago. >> reporter: white house officials tell cnn tonight's address will book end the president's inaugural speech last month. when he laid out aggressive themes on gun control and brought up some pricing subjects. >> no one can avoid the impact of raging fires, crippling drought. our journey is not complete our

gay brothers and sisters will be treated like everyone else your honor the law. >> reporter: president obama is expected to offer more specifics on some of the issues, but the overall focus tonight will be the economy and adding jobs for the middle class. that topic got surprisingingly little attention in the inaugural address. >> he hasn't given us an idea whether there is a significant agenda that he wants to pursue, designed to try to accelerate economic growth and recovery. that is the big missing piece, all the way through the past year, and we'll see whether it's filled in in the state of the union. >> to that end, president obama will frame much of the agenda under the umbrella of economic growth as he talks about tax reform and government spending and education, climate change and immigration. while the wind is at his back, observers say president obama can't appear too bull headed at the start of the second term. brianna keilar, cnn, the white

house. coming up on "early start," we'll talk about the state of the union address with democr democratic congressman matt cartwright and represent adam kinzinger. catch all the highlights, all the analysis, best parts tomorrow morning on "early start," live from washington, getting up at 5:00 a.m. eastern time. >> sounds very exciting, thank you. 6:05 on the east coast. days after her funeral, a major break in the killing of chicago honor student hadiya pendleton. these two men have been charged. 18-year-old michael ward and 20-year-old kenneth williams with murder and attempted murder. the two suspected gang men telling police the 15-year-old shooting was a case of mistaken identity. they believed the crowd she was with was with a rival gang. michelle obama attended hadiya's

funeral and her parents will be special guests at the state of the union. what more do we benn the sns and how they were found by police? >> reporter: we know that the suspects had absolutely no connection to hadiya pennedenleton or the people she was when when they were shot. as far as how police caught them, according to police support gary mccarthy, unfortunately, it wasn't from somebody who came forward, it wasn't a witness, it was a reward, on the news every single day for almost two weeks, nobody came forward. they say what happened, they used different tips that they got from within the community, going door to door, talking to people in the neighborhood and cobbled together these two as their prime suspects, brought them in, and a partial confessi confession. >> ted rowland, thank you very much. seven minutes past the hour, to the surprise announcement that rocked the catholic church to its very core.

pope benedict's decision to step down because of age and fatigue. what happens next? we have a good idea of when a new pope will take on the monumental task of guiding the world's 1 billion catholics. jim bittermann is following all of the developments from the vatican. now, what is new this morning? >> reporter: well, zoraida, i think a little bit of reaction to surprise announcement on the streets of rome. people are digesting it now, and looking ahead and as you mentioned, what a lot of people are asking themselves, is exactly what does happen next. since no pope has resigned in six centuries, there is very little precedent for what happens next. but there are a few hints. as the resignation was announced, there will be a new

pope by easter. they will gather in rome and get through the business of leichtingleicht i electing a new pope before that. they will not convene while the pope is still in office. they won't go into conclave before march 1st. since the pope stepping down february 28th. the election process could be quite short. with jet travel it no longer takes weeks for them to gather. they could arrive very early in march what will be missing with this pope's resignation is the period of mourning and reflection that takes place when a pope dies. it's an open question if they will immediately gather or take a few days to get in the mood for electing a pope. without a mourning period, it's unclear if there will be time in the schedule for quiet and formal gathers of the cardinals which have been a time in the past when those who elect a new pope size up the cardinals among them. the conclave begins when the

cardinals file into the sistine chapel. in ancient times, the conclave went sometimes very long. it took nearly three years in the 13th century to elect pope gregory x, some have gone less than 24 hours. and they typically last just a few days. pope benedict xvi elected after four rounds of voting in 24 hours. shorting the process, with modern communication, they know far more about each other and qualities than they have in the past. and since 67 of the 118 cardinals were personally selected by benedict, it seems unlikely they will enter the conclave with some like mindedness over who would be the successor. zoraida, to follow up on that clip from jon stewart a little earlier what do retired popes do, one thing he says immediately after the

retirement, he will go to the summer residence and retire to the monday amonastery in the va. the question, how much will his living presence have on the conclave? >> do you think he will have an influence? >> reporter: i think first he already has in the sense he named 67 of the 118 cardinal elect fors, that's some influence, and there might be some attempt by cardinals, even though he says he will retire, there might be some attempt either consciously or unconsciously, tacitly or directly to find out what pope's views on the subject of who his successor should be and that would be something that just never happened in modern times. >> this is just all so fascinating, and i love the education you gave this morning, it took three years in the 13th century to elect a pope. just in credible.

doing things much faster these days. jim bittermann, thank you so much. appreciate it. next hour, more on possible successors. what everybody is talking about. we'll speak with raymond arroyo, news direct at ewtn. that's eternal word network. i can't wait to hear what he has to say. >> political intrigue at the vatican, political intrigue here of a much different kind when hours from now, a president starting his second term will address a politically divided congress as the nation watches. coming up, we'll talk to a freshman congress about what he's looking to hear tonight. it should be under stephens. the verizon share everything plan for small business. get a shareable pool of data... got enough joshua trees? ... on up to 25 devices. so you can spend less time... yea, the golden barrels... managing wireless costs and technology and more time driving your business potential. looks like we're going to need to order more agaves... ah! oh! ow! ... and more bandages. that's powerful. shareable data plus unlimited talk and text.

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[ anouncer ] compare new griddle melts yourself. just $4.99. it's an epic breakfast sandwich. welcome back to a special state of the union edition of "early start." i'm john berman. i know my own name, in washington. when the president speaks on capitol hill, he will be addressing one of the most polarized congress inned monthern history. congressman matt cartwright, a freshman congressman from pennsylvania. thank you for joining us. congratulations on your victory. >> thank you, john. still prying my opens. not sure if you wanted me for

the part of the zombie story this hour. >> thank you for coming in. we appreciate it. people are waking up to the news that north korea has tested a new nuclear bomb. a new nuclear explosion in north korea how much of a concern is this to you? >> it is a concern. north korea is a place in the world we can't take our eyes off of. i think it feeds into the larger question we'll hear about tonight, about the sequestration and the devastating effects it could have on our military capability in this country. i would suggest the message there is now is not the time to weaken our military might and power, because places like north korea pay attention to those things. >> you are bringing up the budget, bringing up spending, the president has talked a great deal about this for two years

now. he just told democrats at a retreat, he is prepared, eager, and anxious to get a big deal, a bigging package that will end governance by crisis. you think there is room for a big deal right now? >> that's the whole plan, john, behind the sequestration idea. the idea is not it put sequestration in effect and indiscriminately slash budgets 8%, 9%, 10%, 11%, everybody knows that's the dumb thing to do. the whole point of sequestration is to provide impetus to create a big deal. we need a big deal, because that's what business people need going forward is certainty about what the plan is. >> what are you offering as a democrat? what should they offer as part of the big deal? >> insight i would say. the biggest thing. and what i'm looking far tonight from the state of the union address is more of what we've seen from president obama, which is the appropriate response to what's going on with our

national economy. optimism. now is not the time to get scared. now is not the time to retract and retrench. we all know that there is a debt issue in this country, but when you look at the debt, you have to look at the long term. the long term is compare the debt to the domestic product. if you don't compare the debt to the gdp, are yyou are comparing apples and oranges, but you have to compare that to the size of the gdp. after world war ii, we had a debt-to-gdp ratio of 121%, and people were saying you will never pay this off. it's one of robert reich's favorite stories, his father telling him, you will never pay it off, your children will be paying it off, your grandchildren, but look at the way the economy grew in the '50s and '60s. after that time, nobody could

complain about the roosevelt debt. >> can i ask quickly about the audience? there is some talk about who will be sitting there. the republican congressman from texas has invited ted nugent. rock star and gun advocate. how do you feel about that? >> i don't want to attack ted nugent and the republican particular guest choices. i will say i know that on our side of the aisle, we have invited a lot of people who are victims of gun violence, and certainly that is a topic we're discussing these days. >> you don't look particularly comfortable with having ted nugent there. >> i wouldn't say i'm comfortable. i would say that wouldn't be my first choice, that's all. >> thank you very much. matt cartwright, president of the freshman class. democratic president of the freshman class, washington for the first state of the union. >> thank you, john. >> we'll find out what republicans want to hear when

representative adam kinzinger joins us next hour. >> he's been tweeting about his appearance since last night. 19 minutes past the hour. one word you will hear out of the president's mouth tonight. jobs. christine romans is fact checking. that's coming your way next. you see, c-max helps you load your freight, with its foot-activated lift gate. but that's not all you'll see, cause c-max also beats prius v, with better mpg. say hi to the all-new 47 combined mpg c-max hybrid.

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welcome back. 23 minutes past the hour. u.s. stock futures are flat. corporate earnings come back into focus and reaction to north korea's nuclear test has been muted. christine will weigh in on that. the big speech tonight, state of the union, and 7.9% unemployment rate, you can bet we'll hear about the jobs, jobs, jobs. i know are you doing fact checking. first, nuclear test. >> i think it will hold back markets today. when have you saber rattling from north korea, and a different situation from iran. you tend to see stock investors say i'll wait and see how this pans out. everyone is waiting for the state of the union. what its plans are. i took last year's state of the union address and put it through a word cloud. >> i love this. >> you put it in a word cloud and the software takes a look at the importance of each word. he said the word jobs 42 times lasteer in t year in the state address. more weight than any other word

than state of america. how has he done on jobs? 2 million jobs have been added to the u.s. economy since the last state of the union address, and the unemployment rate has adjusted down to 7.9%. it was 10% at the peak. will he focus on jobs. this is what jay carney said at the press briefing yesterday. >> continue to build on the progress we've made, continue to build on job creation eve achieved, over 6.1 million jobs created by our businesses over the past 35 or 36 months. >> over the past three years. >> fact check? true. the private sector has been creating jobs for 35 straight months. 6.5 million jobs created during that time. here is the reality check to the fact check. we're down more than 3 million jobs since the recession began in december 2007, and the jobs we're adding is not the same quality as the jobs we you have

vow long time. >> this is a study by rutgers that corroborates that. 54% who found new work after six months of being unemployed, are earning less. and the president needs to assure americans that the kinds of jobs we're creating are a job that you can build a future on. that's the real, real crux of the matter. >> and one thing we need to know about money today? >> housing. the recovery in housing is real. home prices in the fourth quarter rose 10% compared to the year before. the biggest quarterly jump in seven years. >> great news. >> and realtor association says the gains were widespread around the country. >> there you go. >> that's new good news. >> widespread gains. >> christine, thank you very much. 26 minutes past the hour. a picture that makes you wonder.

take a look. that, friends, is the vatican. is someone up there trying to tell us something? more on that picture, coming up. exactly when lightning struck the vatican. we'll let you know. oking, and i honestly didn't think i would ever quit. [ male announcer ] along with support, chantix is proven to help people quit smoking. it reduces the urge to smoke. it put me at ease that you could smoke on the first week. [ male announcer ] some people had changes in behavior, thinking or mood, hostility, agitation, depressed mood and suicidal thoughts or actions while taking or after stopping chantix. if you notice any of these stop taking chantix and call your doctor right away. tell your doctor about any history of depression or other mental health problems, which could get worse while taking chantix. don't take chantix if you've had a serious allergic or skin reaction to it. if you develop these stop taking chantix and see your doctor right away as some can be life-threatening. if you have a history of heart or blood vessel problems, tell your doctor if you have new or worse symptoms. get medical help right away if you have symptoms of a heart attack. use caution when driving or operating machinery. common side effects include nausea,

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the blast heard around the world. north korea claiming another nuclear test. counting down to the state of the union address with

president obama set to challenge the republican party. a congressional republican joins us live. and the catholic church with a big void to fill. we'll look at who could be on the short list to replace pope benedict xvi. welcome back to "early start." happy to have you with us. i'm zoraida s aida sambolin. >> and i'm john berman in washington, d.c. to cover state of the union. more on that in a moment. >> first, new developments overnight. north korea has done it again. the state-run news agency has reported that it has successfully conducted a third nuclear test. reaction pouring in from around the world in a few hours, the u.n. security council will hold an emergency meeting and the u.s. is taking the test very seriously. let's bring in barbara starr. live at the pentagon. this test is wore i sor woresom.

>> one of the biggest problems right now is whether or not north korea really has achieved a miniaturid bomb. they say they set off a smaller, more lethal explosive, if you will. miniaturization is key. that means they could possibly put a small war head on a missile sooner than expected and deliver it to a target. now the cia, pentagon, all has to look at this to determine what they set off and essentially now work backward. if it was a miniaturized bomb, what did it take north korea to get there? where did they get the technology, the engineering, the expertise, the money to do it? they will look at what it would have taken north korea to achieve what they say they achieved and try to figure out how they did it and who might have helped them. zoraida. >> has theyou say there. there has been of

skepticism in where this program is right now. >> the u.s. has been skeptical for years. in december, they successfully launched a long-range ballistic missile, now a successful underground nuclear test. so they are achieving some level of expertise in their technology, and engineering. and that is vital if they are getting the help potentially and we don't know from iran, from pakistan. these are key issues. there might be people in those countries helping them, and is north korea then sharing what it knows? it's expertise now, back with countries like iran? >> it raises a lot of questions. >> this is something nobody wants to see. >> i want to get your perspective, the timing with the state of the union address. coincidental? >> well, you know, you got to wonder, don't you? tonight we expect president obama had every intention of announcing additional cuts in the u.s. nuclear weapons arsenal. this is something he has been

trying to achieve, the incoming secretary of defense haggle wants to see. now will the president do it? >> barbara starr, thank you very much. will the president actually address this tonight. john, what do you think? >> he will talk about foreign policy. forbes policy will not be the thrust of the speech. jobs, the economy will be. but when he talks about foreign policy, it's a pretty safe bet north korea will be on his mind. the president set to give that address at 9:00 eastern time. reports indicate that he may do a little bit more finger pointing this time than reaching across the aisle. congressman adam kinzinger, a republican from ill. thank you for joining us. >> thank you for having me. >> we're getting previews about how the president may sound tonig, glen thrush of politico says don't expect anything like the call for peaceful collaboration

that addressed the joint congress in 2009. >> month of the same. i think this is an opportunity. the president has an amazing opportunity to call republicans and democrats together to say both sides have to accept things they don't want in order to accept the problems in the country and for future generations. that's what's missing, the discussion of what happens next with the next generation of americans and, unfortunately, to descend back to partisan rhetoric. you have afternoon sn amazisuch opportunity. i expected him to talk about big opportunities, something large, and didn't hear it, i heard rhetoric and tonight i hope if his goal is right now to do this partisan speech, i hope he changes his mind, rewrites the speech and comes to work with the republicans. >> there are issues on both sides of the aisle. >> sure. >> you look what's happening with the audience, republican congressman from texas bringing

ted nugent, rocker and gut rights advocate who has had some really harsh things to say about the president. does that set the right tone? >> each congressman gets to bring one person with them. i'm bringing my sister tonight in my mind it's that we have really big issues. a 16$16.5 trillion debt that yoh have to pay for. we have an energy crisis in the country. a jobs crisis in the country. a lot that needs to be done. a real opportunity to come together, and trust me, the tone has to change. >> don't you think bringing ted nugent could be a little prov oktive. >> i'm not going to criticize him on the air this is a huge opportunity for both sides to come together. i'm a member of a group called no labels that wants to find common-ground solutions. my kids and grandkids, which i don't have yet, but i hope to someday -- >> how is the no labels thing

going? >> i'm very encouraged. opportunity for both size to come together. no budget, no pay. an idea out of no labels and this is the beginning of shifting the tone in washington from the personal to getting things done. >> you are on the foreign affairs economy. >> i am. overnight, news of explosion in north korea. what are your feelings about that? >> scary. once again, at a point in the sequester of having a real discussion tonight with how to avert that, but have real cuts and this is pretty scary. >> interesting. congressman cartwright brought up the sequester also on the your hon issue of north korea. >> it's important to traes thad this. >> thank you for joining us. >> thank you. >> is have fun tonight. watch the coverage of state of the union beginning at 7:00 p.m. catch the highlights and best

bits of analysis tomorrow morning beginning at 5:00 a.m. eastern time. zoraida. >> thank you. taking a look at top cnn trenz, the first of two tug boats reached the carnival cruise ship that is drifting in the gulf of mexico it will begin towing the ship and the 4 ,200 people on board. it is expected to arrive sometime tuesday. a spokesman on carnival cruiseline says an anyoan engin that ship stranded since sunday. take a look at that. lightning strike, just hours after pope benedict xvi announced his resignation. lightning actually struck the vatican. i was looking online to see if it's ever good to get struck by lightning. i think the answer is no. 38 minutes past the hour. a test of patience for those still stuck at home in 40 inches of snow after the northeast

blizzard. a live look. just ahead.

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we wanted to make sure i wasn't lonely in washington. so soledad o'brayen came down. >> we'll talk about north korea third time that the country has performed a nuclear test. what does the act mean for the state of the union address tonight? he was expected to focus on jobs. does that message change? what the president is expected to say with gene sperling, ron

johnson, bob mcdonnell and jake tapper join us. less than two months ago, the country almost went off the fiscal cliff. remember that? so how did we get so close to the brink? a new documentary out called "cliff hanger" which exposed what went on behind closed doors. mark kirk, the director, will join me to talk about that live. >> a republic i hboth a republi democrat talking about how what's happening in north korea a reason to avoid the sequester. >> zoraida. thousands of people in the northeast are stuck in their homes. three days later and they are waiting for someone to dig them out. on long island, plows struggling to reach neighborhoods buried in 2 1/2 feet of snow in massachusetts, where three feet of snow fell in some places, over 100,000 customers still without power, those were the

numbers last night. one of the hardest hit areas in the region is hamden, connecticut, where 40 inches fell, and much of it still plowed this morning. that's where we find george howell. with all of the snow out there, how are residents managing? >> reporter: well, zoraida, fair to say, people are getting around a little easier today i can say than in the past few days. in fact, we're starting to see daylight overhere, something we haven't seen in a while. a lot of snow starting to melt. you still see snow plows and payloaders doing the job of clearing the roads. it's when you get into the neighborhoods, you find people still stuck in their homes. hamden is a community that comes together. neighbors helping neighbors to clear driveways, sidewalks and people are very patient here. very patient about waiting this out and that's what officials say is very important because this cleanup could take, you

know, several weeks after having 40 inches of snow. >> no kidding. at the end of day three, and it looks stockpiled behind you. we know superstorm sandy cost the state of connecticut over $360 million. so people are still recovering from that. any sense on what the cost is for the overall damage, the cleanup, this time around? >> reporter: you know, i was talking to the mayor of hamden about dollars and cents, and the situation is still being assessed. clears still out clearing roads. unclear how long it will take to clear the roads, but we know that the president did declare connecticut an emergency, a state of emergency, federal dollars are coming this way to help with local efforts to clear the roads, zoraida. >> you mentioned another thing headed their way is more snow today? >> reporter: a lot of it is melting, and that's good news. the other day we saw a lot of

black ice on the roweads, you mentioned me doing the moon walk, because it was easy to do. good news this morning, fewer slick spots, commute better than the other day. >> all right. that's good news for the folks out there. george howell, nice to have you out there. thank you. 45 minutes past the hour. michael vick took a big pay cut to stay in philadelphia, a place the star quarterback says where his heart is. eric greenberg joins us for today's bleacher report. >> good morning. a new coaching staff, new playbook, but not a new quarterback in philadelphia. another chance to give michael vick the offense. he has agreed to restructure his can the. a one-year deal that could earn vick $1 million. chip kelly has not agreed vick the starting job. he will compete with nick foles. imagining losing nearly $13

million, on christmas nonetheless? francisco liriano did that while attempting to scare his children on christmas, he broke his nonpitching arm, now he won't be able to make his pittsburgh debut until may. thus potentially forgoing millions. can't we all hear mom saying no horsing around in the house? the gold en sten state warr are making a fashion statement. ignore the blinding neon yellow. the warriors want you to focus on the sleeves. first nba team to stray from the traditional tank top. the new jerseys are also 26% lighter. golden state will debut the sleeves on february 2 2nd. no word if the new look will be seen in any new york city fashion shows. new candidate for sports video of the year. anna olsen, 3/4 quart. no chance, right, anna? how about the biggest bounce

we've ever seen? the high school junior from colorado with a shot that defies science. anna olsen with a whole lot of girl power. >> oh, my goodness, that's incredible. >> unbelievable shot there. one of the best we've ever seen. >> love that it was a girl. >> it certainly was. for more on that shot and everything else happening in the sports world, we invite to you logon to bleacherreport.com. now, nelson high school, in monument, colorado. what do you think? the town should build a monument in her honor? >> indeed. i'm in if i get a vote. >> thank you. 46 minutes past the hour. the vatican left scrambling after pope benedict announces he is retiring. a closer look at how they will pick the new pope and who it will be, coming up. al person.

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let the speculation begin as news of pope benedict xvi's resignation continues to resonate. catholics speculating about who the future head of their church could be. some names thrown around are cardinal leonardo sandri, marc quellet, angelo scolla, and cardinal dolan. thank you for joining us. nice to see your face after you chatted with us yesterday on the phone.

all right. let's talk about this list of successors. let's start with that. we put up a list there. do you -- >> i saw them. >> does is change what you think who should be on the list? >> sflor aid >> any time we engage in early speculation, we're bound to be wrong. any of those men are qualified. what are cardinal electors looking for? the pope resigned because he felt he didn't have the vigor and energy to run the vatican, but to carry the gospel to the world to carry out these large global travels and trips abroad. so i think they will be looking for somebody that has that evangelical spirit and vigor and stamina for the job. benedict i think also probably stepped down, because, remember, he watched john paul ii's demise and watched his powers fade, and what happens when a pope

declines in power, the bureaucracy in inevitably increases. and i don't think he particularly enjoyed what was happening aat that time and may be seeing tremors again. and he decided to go ahead and retire early. >> let's stay on successors for a moment. any possibility that an american would -- we have dolan on there. is there any possibility we could see an american pope? >> i love cardinal dolan. i have known him since he was a priest. if i could elect a pope, i would elect dolan. but half of these election fors are europeans, the other half are predominantly africans and asians. the likelihood of them electing an american pope is remote. america has such a huge influence on the world to give them a papacy would be a bridge too far. that was the mind-set into the last conclave. look for a european, right now, if you were -- you know, begging me to give you an answer, i would probably say look at

cardinal oullette from canada, who the pope incidentally sort of annoyanced or so they say when he was made archbishop of milan. >> how much of an influence will he have on his successor? >> i think he will have an enormous influence. this was part of the calculation, that he would retire but be of sound mind and able to adviceheadvise a bit. it's the time before the conclave when the cardinals meet over dinners, have time to talk quietly. i spoke to a number of cardinals yesterday. ought but one said his first order of business, and they see him getting pulled into the conclave experience. and chances are, there are a good week two weeks before the conclave. that is when coalitions begin to listen and have those discussions that then lead to a candidate emerging once they get

to the sistine chapel. >> will the new pope be a conservative like benedict, or more of a moderate hope. anyway, we will chat you more. i love having you. appreciate your time. >> that is it for "early start." i'm zoraida sambolin in new york. >> and i'm john berman in washington. "starting point" with soledad o'brien begins right now. with business. and you...rent from national. because only national lets you choose any car in the aisle. and go. you can even take a full-size or above. and still pay the mid-size price. i could get used to this. [ male announcer ] yes, you could business pro. yes, you could. go national. go like a pro. to fly home for the big family reunion. you must be garth's father? hello. mother. mother! traveling is easy with the venture card because you can fly any airline anytime.

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